Urabist Faction

The Urabist Faction was a reactionary political party in Egypt that was active from 1836 to 1914. The faction was named for the Egyptian nationalist leader Ahmed Urabi, whose leadership of an 1879 army mutiny led to an 1879-1882 revolt against British rule in the Khedivate of Egypt. Urabi had the support of the Egyptian people due to his status as the first Egyptian political and military leader to rise from the fellahin (farmers), and he served as Prime Minister under Tewfik Pasha during his revolt. In 1882, the British crushed the revolt by bombarding Alexandria and decisively defeating the Egyptians at Tell el-Kebir. From 1882 to 1914, Egypt was ruled as a "veiled protectorate" of the United Kingdom.